Tides of Peril

by Rick Potter

  "How about a foot?" she said. "Stand back."

  Maddie took a deep breath, then performed a roundhouse kick. The shelf loosened from the wall. "You got it," he said.

  "Kickboxing classes are paying off," she said, then discharged another powerful kick.

  Sam tugged on a piece of wood and ripped it from the wall.

  Moments later, after prying the hinges to the hatch, it separated just enough to squeeze his head through. When he peeked over the edge of the hatch, sprays from large swells showered his face. He turned to see Andrea behind the wheel, attempting to steady Madeline. Before ducking back in the room, he caught a glimpse of the other hatch. He evacuated back into the dryness of the room, and told Maddie, "I saw the hatch. It's just in front of the mast, about twenty-feet from the cockpit."

  "That's great."

  "But, there's two problems."

  "Yeah?"

  "Andrea's staring in this direction, she'll see me for sure."

  "What's the second?"

  "The seas are the size of mountains." That was the worse problem for Sam, being on top of a rocking boat during a storm with no life vest.

  "Okay, forget that idea," she said.

  "Let's think a minute," Sam said. He really didn't want to resort to implementing her idea. "We have a broken bookshelf, a rope, a source of fire, and a can of flammable hairspray. We should be able to do something with these." All indications pointed to using her idea.

  "If we can get them back here one at a time, we should be able to knock them out and tie them up," she suggested.

  "I don't know. I'm not worried as much about her as I am him. He's a big boy."

  "Sam, we're smarter than he is?"

  "Yeah, it's worth a try. But how do we get him back here?"

  "I'm sure they'll be checking on us," he answered. "If it's her, then we'll just have to try and knock her out."

  "And if it's him?"

  Sam gazed around the room, again. "I don't know."

  "I know," she said, without pause. "Sex."

  It was as though she had already thought of that before. "Excuse me?" Sam asked.

  "What guy doesn't like the promise of sex?"

  "You have a good point, but I don't think he even knows what it is."

  "I guess we'll find out. If he doesn't, I'll have to educate him."

  Sam was reluctant to agree. "What do you have in mind?"

  Sam's bewildered expression told Maddie he didn't like the idea. "It sounds pretty dangerous."

  "Our whole situation is dangerous. Do you have a better idea?"

  She was right. He had exhausted all possible scenarios and concluded it was the only way. It was still a large risk, but anything they did would be a risk.

  It was time to set the stage. Maddie unstrung the rope from the curtains, while Sam prepared slip knots with the rope. He had learned all the various seaman knots during his refresher classes, and had become proficient at them all. Just as everything was in place, they heard footsteps topside. "It's Carlos," he said.

  "What's he doing?"

  "I don't know, but he should be reefing the sails."

  "What if he sees the hatch loose?"

  Carlos's footsteps became louder as they neared the hatch. "Quick, lay down," Sam said.

  Sam peered up, squinting at Carlos peeking through the hatch. Carlos's size thirteen crashed down, slamming the hatch sealed. Then the sound of his footsteps dissipated toward the cockpit.

  Sam couldn't stop thinking of Maddie's idea. "What if he hurts you without realizing it," he asked. "Remember before, when he grabbed you?"

  "Don't worry, I know how to speak to children," she said. "I've raised two, already."

  Still, he wasn't comfortable with her luring Carlos in the room with the promise of sex.

  A while later, they were lying on the bed staring at the ceiling when they heard Carlos's faint voice. They leaped from the bed, ears flush to the door. "M-Madeline to El C-Capitan de Barcos, c-come in?" they heard him say.

  "This is M-Madeline. C-Come in?"

  "Whose de barcos?" Maddie whispered.

  Carlos repeated, "El C-Capitan de barcos, are you th-there?"

  "I can't make out what he's saying," Sam answered.

  "El C-Capitan de Barcos, are you th-there?"

  "El Capitan means, The Captain," Sam said.

  "I know that. But, whose de Barcos?"

  "I think Barcos means boats. He's saying, the Captain of Boats... whatever that means."

  After several more attempts, they heard him say, "C-Captain Kent, this is M-Madeline, are you there?"

  Maddie glared at Sam. "Captain Kent? Why's he contacting him?"

  "I don't know, listen."

  "C-Captain Kent, the c-cargo is on the way."

  "He's one of them!" Maddie said, then stepped away from the door. "We trusted him. He was our friend. We were gonna radio him for help. He gave us the pills, I knew they weren't aspirin."

  "He probably had us setup from the first day," Sam said, in a condemning tone. "I had no idea."

  Maddie was heated. "I can't believe it, we were the perfect targets. They probably thought of us as a simple family that no one would miss. He had us pegged from the..."

  Sam gestured to her. "Keep your voice down, he'll hear you."

  "C-Captain Kent, p-please come in. This is C-Carlos."

  Maddie's mind was spinning. She remembered her telephone conversation with him, he was kind and reassuring. She remembered his generosity in loaning them his golf cart. He was so pleasant, greeting everyone at the marina, and how everyone admired him. She envisioned the insignia written across his golf cart, ...trusted boat broker. Then she had flashes of the missing person posters at the store, and how they were all abducted from the same area. It all made sense.

  "He's a fucking con man," she said. "I'll bet he's not even a real captain. I'll bet he lied about his sea stories, too. Hell, he probably doesn't even know how to sail."

  "Maddie be quiet," Sam barked.

  Then they heard his voice again from just outside their door. "Are you o-okay in th-there?"

  "Hurry, get into position," Sam said.

  Sam dove on the bed facing the wall, clutching the lighter and can of hairspray. "Remember the code words."

  Maddie sprawled into a wanton position beside him facing the opposite direction. She ran her fingers through her hair, pulled her shoulder strap down, and exposed her slender legs, then rested her head on her hand, facing the door.

  "Are you all r-right in th-there?"

  "Carlos? Is that you?" She spoke in a soft calm tone.

  "Yes, it's me."

  "My head really hurts, will you bring me a cup of water?"

  He remembered his sister's orders. "I c-can't come in there."

  "Please, Carlos, I need your help."

  "No, I c-can't."

  "I'm really thirsty, Carlos. Please?"

  "Try something else," Sam whispered.

  "Carlos? If you come in here, I have a surprise for you."

  "I c-can't."

  "Carlos, I need you so bad, please come in here."

  "I'll g-get in t-trouble."

  "I need your help, Carlos. I promise I won't tell. She'll never find out. Please?"

  "D-Do you p-p-promise?"

  "Yes, Carlos, I promise. Please hurry."

  There was a long silence, but they knew he hadn't left the cabin. "What's he doing?" Sam whispered.

  "Carlos? Are you still there? Please, hurry."

  The door unlatched. Carlos peeked in and saw Maddie lying on the bed. He flinched back at the sight of her legs, and pivoted around the room to avoid staring.

  "I g-got w-water for you." Then he handed her the water in a paper cup.

  "Oh, that's so good, thank you so much."

  "Wh-what's wrong w-with him?" he asked, glancing at Sam.

  "He's sleeping, he doesn't feel well either. My head really hurts Carlos, will you rub it for me?"

  "You w-want me t-to ru
b your head?"

  "Please? Will you do that for me?"

  "I'm n-not supposed t-to touch you."

  "But it hurts so much. I need you to help me. Don't you want to help me?"

  "Okay," he agreed, then inched toward her.

  "That's it, closer," she said.

  Carlos tried not to look at her, but it was difficult for him to look at anything else in the confines of the small quarters. The closer he neared her, the more his eyes made contact with her. He exchanged glances from her legs to her shoulders. "It's all right, you can look at me, Carlos. It makes me feel nice when you look at me."

  Carlos's rugged appearance and strong handsome frame attracted her. If she hadn't been married and he didn't have brain damage, he'd be the perfect solution to her carnal desires.

  Sam cringed in disappointment and anger at what he was hearing. She never spoke to him like that.

  Carlos placed a knee beside her foot, then shifted his heavy body up further. "Where d-does it hurt?"

  "Right here," she said, touching the side of her head.

  He placed the palm of his hand on her head and began petting. "Gently," she said. "Rub gently." She knew he could crush her skull at any moment. "Like this," she added. She set her hand on his leg to demonstrate a massage. It felt like a granite slab and she wondered if he even felt her hand.

  "L-Like this?"

  She moaned. "Yes like that." She slipped her bare leg across his lap. "Oh, that feels nice, Carlos. You're so good."

  Carlos reminded her of a child caring for a doll.

  "R-Really? You think I'm d-doing g-good?"

  "Yes, you're very good."

  "Th-Thank you, b-but I better go n-now."

  "No, please, I need more."

  "You s-said you had a s-surprise for me."

  Maddie thought that would have been enough of a surprise for him, but his mental capacity persuaded her she had to take it further. She needed to get his head lowered so he wouldn't notice Sam rising to attack.

  "You want your surprise now?"

  "Yeah."

  It was time. There would be no turning back. She gave him a cordial smile, then asked, "Have you ever had a woman, Carlos?"

  "W-What d-do you m-mean?"

  She answered in a sultry voice. "I mean, have you ever had sex before?"

  Sam's anger rose to a new level. Her voice sounded like a telephone sex call he had heard from a movie. He gritted his teeth, wondering if she'd ever spoken to anyone like that before.

  He withdrew his hand from her head, remembering when his sister and he walked the streets of Mexico. Bars lined the streets with women wearing revealing skirts, and high heels, their faces painted with war paint. They'd flash gestures and taunt him with words he'd never heard before, then invite him in for a good time.

  "M-My sis-sister says it's a s-sin."

  "It's only a sin if you force yourself on someone. You don't have to force yourself on me. I want you, Carlos."

  Carlos thought a moment. "B-But it's n-not a g-good th-thing to d-do."

  Maddie was getting frustrated. She never had to talk a guy into having sex with her. "Carlos, sometimes people have to have sex. There wouldn't be any people, or babies if we didn't have sex. Isn't that right?" Her pacifying tone kept him calm. "And if we don't have babies to grow up, how would you get your business? There wouldn't be any people to rent ocean toys from you."

  She made sense to him. "Yeah m-maybe."

  Carlos stared at her leg still lying across his lap. "Do you want to touch my leg, Carlos?"

  "I d-don't kn-know. M-Maybe."

  "Go ahead. You can touch it, just be gentle. You don't want to hurt me, right?"

  "I w-won't hurt you."

  Carlos skimmed his hand along her leg. He stopped just below the bottom of her shorts, hiked above her thighs. "Does that feel good for you?" she asked.

  "It's s-so soft."

  "Do it again, Carlos, slowly."

  She elevated her leg and rested it on his shoulder, spreading her legs. "Will you kiss my leg, Carlos?"

  "K-Kiss it? I-I d-don't know how."

  Maddie took his other hand in hers and kissed it. "See? Just like that."

  "O-Okay." Then he turned his head and kissed it.

  Closing her eyes for a moment, she tensed. It felt good to have a hand of another man on her. 'He's like a puppy,' she thought. 'Like Sam.'

  "You know, Carlos. I usually like it rough, but not on our first date. I need you to be really gentle with me this time, okay?"

  "Okay."

  But she wanted more. She wanted a relentless savage that forced her into erotic submission. Someone experienced in pleasing women. Not someone tame and tender, she already had that. She knew Carlos could be trained, but feared he'd seriously injure her in the process. It was safer to keep him on a leash. Besides, Sam was only inches away, listening to her every word. Perhaps on some subconscious level, she was telling Sam what she needed, and hoped her words would register for later times.

  "Come closer to me now," she said.

  Carlos shifted closer. She took his hand and placed it on her belly. "You want me to rub there too?" he asked without stammering.

  "Yes, Carlos."

  Sam's face reddened, wondering where she wanted him to rub. 'What's taking so long? Why won't she call out the code words?'

  Carlos's large hand engulfed her abdomen. With a slight arch, she moaned. "That feels so good."

  His hand brushed the bottom of her breast with each stroke. She pushed his hand over her nipple. "Massage me here," she said.

  It was strange to see a man this size, so calm and gentle. She positioned her foot between his legs, working up toward his groin. She felt his large muscle, but it hadn't yet begun to flex. She gently stroked him with her foot until she felt him harden.

  "How do you feel, Carlos?"

  He stared at her body, "I don't know. You're so soft."

  "I mean, how do you feel here," then pressed her foot into his groin.

  "It's a strange feeling, but it feels nice."

  She wondered if he realized he was speaking without stammering. 'Hell, he just needs to get laid.'

  "Put your lips here," she said, rubbing her breast.

  "I don't know, my sister will really get angry with me."

  "It's all right. I told you, your sister will never know. We'll just keep this our secret, all right?"

  "All right."

  Sam was fuming, listening to everything she was saying, and visualizing everything she was doing. His impatience was growing and wanted to give her a nudge, afraid she was lost in the ecstasy of the moment.

  When Carlos bent his head down to press his lips against her breast, her leg slipped from his shoulder and draped his back. "You want me to kiss them like this?" he asked.

  'Kiss them? What the hell is going on?' Sam feared she was going too far.

  "Yes like that. Now these," she said, squeezing her nipples.

  It was different from when Sam used to do it. This was tantalizing and exciting. She had a rush of energy feeling his lips on her erect nipple. It must have been driving Sam crazy with jealousy, but that wasn't her intention. Well, not totally anyway. But that wasn't part of the plan. They had to subdue this giant sleeping monster.

  She combed her fingers through his hair, massaging his head, while still massaging his groin. It had grown more than the size of her foot.

  She started to speak again, then hesitated. She wanted this feeling of being kissed by a stranger to last, but Carlos's head was where it needed to be, buried in her breast. She knew all his thoughts were distracted to his groin area. It was the right moment. "You're so strong," she said.

  Those were the words, the code words for Sam to spring into action. He slipped out from under the blanket and rose to his knees like a predator sneaks up on its prey. Filled with anger from Maddie's performance, he pointed the hairspray at the lighter, inches away from the back of Carlos's head. The sight of Carlos's head buried in his wife
's breasts -- her foot between his legs -- and her moans of sexual pleasure of another man, enraged him. A stream of fire shot from the can, engulfing Carlos's head.

  It took a second before Carlos realized what was happening. When the heat turned into a burning, he reflexed his head back, slamming it into Sam's face. Carlos screamed in pain, as he sprung from Maddie, knocking Sam to the door. The lighter and can of hairspray tumbled to the floor.

  Carlos stood and smothered his head with his hands. "W-What a-are you...?"

  "Get him again," Maddie yelled.

  Sam scrambled for the lighter and hairspray, then sprayed him again. Carlos let out another scream. "S-Stop...!" He turned and twisted, convulsing out of control.

  His flailing arms caught Maddie in the face. A large gash above her eye streamed blood, impairing her vision. She skimmed the bed with her hands, searching for the rope. She wiped the blood from her eye, then looped the slip knot around his neck and pulled. His fight leveled Maddie to the rear of the bed with him falling on top of her. Sam tried to slip another rope around his feet, but Carlos was a writhing animal.

  Flash memories of being on the streets of Mexico with his sister raced through Carlos's mind. Groups of men would approach him with challenges to test their strength and fighting ability. They'd shout remarks of sarcasm and ridicule, then shove him and burst into loud drunken guffaws, watching him falter like a redwood. He'd give a confused look, and ask, "Why?"

  It was only after his sister gave the order. He'd render his attackers disabled, groveling on the ground, or limping away in agonizing pain. But Andrea wasn't here now, and he never harmed people without her consent.

  "W-why d-d-do..." he started to say.

  Sam torched another stream of fire at him, but that only made him angrier. Sam reached for another rope, then looped it around his neck. "Pull!" Sam yelled.

  Carlos's face turned red, as the ropes tightened around his neck. Carlos was out of fight. He was out of air. "He can't breathe, we're killing him," Maddie said.

  Carlos stretched near Maddie, remaining motionless with his eyes closed. "We killed him," Maddie said.

  Then he moved again, trying to lift his head from Maddie's lap. Still seething with anger, Sam took the piece of shelving and cracked it over Carlos's head several times. "What are you doing, Sam? Are you trying to kill him?"

  Sam dropped the board and felt him for a pulse. "Apparently not," he answered. "He's still alive."

  Sam and Maddie hogtied him, but it was Sam's idea to connect a piece of rope around the front of his neck and ankles. "Are you crazy?" Maddie asked, concerned for Sam's state of mind.

  "Maybe," he answered. "It'll take longer for oxygen to reach his brain. He'll be out much longer now."